John Brooks
First off, it's my obligation to mention I the reviewer personally only watched the Charlie Brown and Snoopy cartoons every so often and couldn't say I grew up on them, but as an adult now certainly have a feel for what it was all about, its atmosphere and spirit; it's just I wasn't a diehard connoisseur.I preface this review by saying that as the nostalgic effect on me was only temporary and evaporated pretty soon into the developments. However, it felt SO COOL and exciting to see Charlie Brown and Snoopy and the whole gang again and they did a fine job hyping up the event in the early stages. They did an amazing job reconstructing the Charlie Brown appeal both in spirit as more tangibly in the drawings: this here is a 3D rendition of the characters and backgrounds, only boosted with computer-generated virtual motion and it's absolutely superbly done: all the authenticity and pure Peanuts aesthetics preserved, but adapted into the modern mold carefully and most subtly and with excellent attention to detail.However, as mentioned the effect only lasts so long and this film needs to be critiqued as a film for adults, as millennial kids hardly know anything about it and it is obviously aimed at the then-children/now-adult portion of society. So it's a film for grownups; nostalgic grownups; not kids. And as a film for adults, it's just way too thin. It's got the good old morals, the story is easy to follow, the characters each in their own way are funny and cute... but the parts with Snoopy vs the Red Baron turn self-indulgent very quickly and overall the emotionally-charged laughs quickly turn into mere snorts then into polite smiles.It's cute, it's fun, it kept the spirit of the original and preserved the visual appeal outstandingly....but it's not enough as a FILM. A generous 6/10.
elicopperman
Even though Calvin & Hobbes will always remain my favorite comic strip of all time, Peanuts definitely remains another favorite for its simplistic charm, humor and lovable characters. So what happens when it gets adapted into a movie by Blue Sky Studios? Well, just get the son and grandson of the creator of Peanuts, Charles Schulz, to co-write and co-produce the film, and you get a film worth watching like this.The plot centers around Charlie Brown (Noah Schnapp) trying to prove he is more than just an average kid, and trying to win over the affection of a little red-haired girl (Francesca Capaldi) and soon becomes popular by doing what he thought never could have happened, and a subplot where Charlie Brown's dog Snoopy (Bill Melendez) imagines himself as the WWI Flying Ace trying to take down the Red Baron and save his love Fifi (Kristen Chenoweth) all in story form. What would be a rather weak and pretty average plot in other movies works really well in this movie, because Peanuts was always simple, easy to follow, and fun to get into. Not only does this movie succeed so well in capturing the charm and wit of the comics and cartoons, but it even captures it's style of humor and nostalgia. The jokes move at a quick pace, the visual gags are well animated albeit a little repetitive, and the sense of childhood sentimentality remains delightful in every way.One semi-controversial quality about this movie is that the animation is CGI, but thanks to the wonderful animation team at Blue Sky, they were able to turn the classic Peanut characters into 3 dimensions, and still make them look l2D. The characters look just like how they did in the original cartoons, the animation on them is simple and fluid, the backgrounds look very beautiful as well as imaginative, and even the effects look superb. Also, there are little instances when there is some 2D animation mixed in, so don't think 2D animation is lost in the film. Not to mention, there are dances and movements very similar to classic dances performed by the Peanuts in a Charlie Brown Christmas.As for the characters, they're all the same gang that we've come to love and expect. First off, there's Charlie Brown, the lonely kid with bad luck who wants to make a change in the world. What makes Charlie Brown such a memorable and likable character in this is that we feel for him and want him to succeed, and he'll do whatever it takes to be a winner, like being honest, brave, and caring to his sister and dog. There's also Snoopy, his little companion dog who is by his side and is there to entertain the audience, Lucy Van Pelt (Hadley Belle Miller), the bossy and snobbish girl who acts like a real jerk to others, and the Little Red-Haired Girl (yes, that's her literal name), the love interest who admires Charlie Brown for the person he is.There's also characters who support Charlie Brown like Linus Van Pelt, Marcie, Schroeder, and his sister Sally Brown. Even Peppermint Patty and an unnamed little kid have a good connection to the story and aren't just there for the heck of it. Fifi herself is just Snoopy's average love-interest and that's it though, she's not fully dimensional, but she does give Snoopy a nice goal to find his true love. Although some characters like Franklin, Violet, Patty, Pig-Pen, and even Shermy and Frieda are just there and don't contribute that much to the story, the rest of the characters still make the movie fun to get into.But it wouldn't be Peanuts without a good voice cast and splendid music to go with it. Since the old Peanuts cartoons always used child actors instead of adults, this one has child actors as well, and they were perfect. They all gave out the perfect vibe for each character they voiced, and it really sounds like they put their all into it. They even took archive-footage of Bill Melendez's vocal effects for Snoopy and Woodstock, and they fit in rather well. And the best part about the soundtrack is not only the original, lighthearted, and even epic score by Christophe Beck, but also the jazzy, upbeat, and whimsical music by original Peanuts composer, Vince Guaraldi. The film does contain a couple modern day pop songs, and they flow beautifully by aiding the story and characters, as well as give quite humorous montages.With the charm, wit, humor, and overall fun that the original series contained put in a blender, The Peanuts Movie offers enough nostalgic memories to the people who grew up with the cartoon, and is faithful enough to introduce a new generation onto the cartoon and series. This is a must- watch for anyone who loves the Peanuts, or is in the mood for a film for the whole family. There once was a quote by Charles Schultz himself entitled, "If I were to be given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.", and that sums up this movie perfectly. This movie was not made just to make a quick buck, it was made to present Peanuts again and let it enter the hearts and memories of children, just like how it happened back then. Adults who were once kids will soon introduce the comics and cartoons that they grew up with to their kids, and this movie is a perfect example on introducing the world to the Peanuts from generation to generation. Of all the Charlie Brown's in the world, this movie was the Charlie Browniest.
